The Alexa of Romance (or A Valentine's Misunderstanding)
by Starlight623
Summary: Leonard thinks he overhears that Sara hates Valentine's Day. How will that affect his big plans?


While the crew of the Waverider was celebrating another time win, Leonard Snart was celebrating something different.

Yes, they defeated another time aberration, but he also managed to sneak off to a jewelry store and buy the exact ring he was hoping for. (It was irritatingly hard to contact stores on Earth while your girl was the captain of the time ship and monitored most transmissions.)

Now it was just a matter of finding the time to propose. Valentine's Day was the next day. That seemed kinda hokey, but at the same time, romantic enough to make it ok as well.

Leonard hid the ring in his bunk, as they seemed to spend most nights in hers these days (something that Mick greatly appreciated as Leonard's room was right next to his and their evening activities weren't something Mick wanted to hear… ever again).

As Leonard walked to the bridge, he overheard Sara talking with Raymond.

"You know, it should be almost Valentine's Day in our time right now," Ray cheerfully announced.

"Come on, Ray, you don't find Valentine's Day irritating?" she asked.

"No! I find it charming and sweet. What a great way to celebrate love!"

"Yeah, but…"

Leonard didn't hang around to hear the rest of the discussion. If Sara hated Valentine's Day, then his proposal plans were definitely heading sideways.

He hurried back to his room to regroup.

What he didn't hear was the rest of the conversation:

"Yeah, but, do you really need just one day to celebrate your love? I'm all for a good celebration as much as anyone, and admittedly I do actually like Valentine's Day, but I hate how everyone just uses that one day to be loving and 364 other days are just blah."

"Ah, but you and Leonard aren't 364 days of blah," Ray countered, smiling.

"That's true," Sara replied, desperately trying not to giggle like a schoolgirl. "But I know plenty of other relationships like that. I'm certain you're not a Valentine's Day only guy, right, Ray?"

"Nope, I love love. And some day, I'm gonna prove it to the right girl."

"I know it. I just know it." She smiled and decided to head to her room for a bit.

There, she found Leonard, aggressively cleaning the Cold Gun.

"Careful, or you'll freeze your hand off again," she joked.

"I'm always careful," he muttered.

"Um, ok. Well, I was going to ask you if you wanted to train for a bit, but if you're busy…" she trailed off, hoping he'd take her up on the offer.

"Yeah, busy."

"Yeah, so… Maybe I'll find Amaya then." And with that, she left, wondering just what the hell was going on with him.

They were both quiet for the rest of the evening, prompting the rest of the crew to worry about what could transpire with these two angry. Dinner was uncomfortable for all and they were grateful when the pair finally went off to bed.

"So, are you ever going to tell me what's bothering you?" Sara asked as she climbed into bed.

"Everything's fine," Leonard drawled.

She knew better but, as much as she hated going to bed angry, she knew this wasn't getting resolved tonight. There was too much stubbornness between the two of them.

"Great. Good night, Leonard."

"Night, Sara."

The next morning was just as chilly with them. Sara marched off to find some information on ship upgrades and Leonard went to the training room, where he found Ray and Mick.

"Snart," Ray greeted.

"Raymond," Leonard mumbled.

"Everything ok?"

"Peachy."

"Well, forgive me for intruding, but I really think it's not."

"I won't have to forgive you if you don't intrude."

"Come on, Leonard. We're all a team here. If you and Sara are having issues, you owe it to the rest of us—"

"I owe you nothing, Raymond!" Leonard snapped.

"Fine. But it doesn't mean I don't want to help. Is there anything I can do?"

"No."

"Alright." And with that, Ray left.

Mick sighed. "Not that I don't like seeing Haircut brought down like that, but what's buggin' you?"

"Maybe I just want to keep my business private," Leonard replied, deciding to take his aggressions out on the punching bag.

"Yeah, but he's kinda right. If you and Blondie are on the outs…"

"We're not on the outs! Damn it, Mick! Can't you leave well enough alone?"

Mick stared at his former partner in crime, unfazed by Leonard's tone.

"Nope. I can't deal when you two are fightin'. Makes shit weird around here. So, spill it already."

Leonard growled in frustration. Did no one on this damn ship realize he wasn't one for feelings? But Mick obviously wasn't going to let this go.

"Fine. Here it is. I was planning a nice Valentine's Day for Sara. Something unexpected from me. And I was going to propose to her, but I overheard her saying to Raymond how much she hates Valentine's Day, so my big plan is ruined. It's like the Alexa of romance. The one time I try to be that guy and it blows up in my face. Happy, Mick?"

Mick merely grinned and tried not to laugh.

"And what, may I ask, is so damn funny?" Leonard angrily asked.

"You. For the first time, probably ever, you went into somethin' blind. You heard part of a conversation and got all pissy because of it and now you're actin' like a real dumbass."

"Careful, Mick…" Leonard drawled.

"Calm down, boss. All I'm tryin' to say is that you didn't hear Sara right. I was with her and Ray when they were talkin' about it. Stein and Jax were there too, but none of us wanted to get in the middle of their argument. Sara doesn't hate Valentine's Day. She actually likes it. She just hates it when people only get mushy once a year."

Leonard couldn't reply.

"So, happy now?" Mick smiled. "She even got all sappy lookin' when Haircut mentioned that you two aren't like that."

"You're enjoying this too much," Leonard said, lowering his fists. "Well, looks like I'm going to have to be twice as dashing tonight when I propose. But I think I'm going to need your help."

Mick could only shake his head. These two, while perfect for each other, sure did make life more difficult than it needed to be.

After Mick spread the word that the captain and her Captain were not to be disturbed tonight (and hinted that it would finally make the tension stop), he went to talk to Sara.

"Blondie, Snart's lookin' for ya."

"Well, maybe I'm not looking for Snart," she snapped.

He was expecting this. "Look, Sara." (This catches her attention as he oh-so-rarely called her anything but Blondie or Killer.) "The boss can be a real–"

"Pain in the ass?" she interrupted.

"Oh yeah, definitely. But with you, his heart's always in the right place. I've known him for a long time now and I've never seen him like he is with you. Remember that dumb Jerry Maguire movie?"

Sara nods, shocked that Mick knows it. Too shocked to ask.

"It's like that. You complete him. He's better with you. And he'd probably tell you that, if the two of you would ever get your heads out of your asses."

"Look, it's not my fault. He's the one who got all distant."

"You've met Snart, right? You know how he is."

"I do, but he doesn't have to be that way with me. And he knows that."

Mick sighed. What the hell was he going to do with these two?

"Ok, here's what it comes down to: you both drive each other crazy, but you love each other anyway. Now, I'm done with dealin' with feelin's tonight. I was told to tell you that Snart's lookin' for ya, I did. See ya later, Blondie."

And with that, Mick walked off.

Sara huffed. Fine. Might as well go see what the ass wants.

As she got closer to her room, she began to think about what Mick said. Maybe she did just need to talk to Leonard. Provided he would actually talk.

When she opened the door to the bunk, what greeted her was an absolute surprise. Standing there, looking very handsome in a midnight blue tuxedo, was Leonard, holding a single red rose.

"Leonard?" she questioned.

"Come here," he requested. She walked to him and accepted the rose.

"What's all this?" Sara gestured to Leonard and then to the table off to the side.

He took a deep breath. "I owe you an apology."

"I thought Captain Cold doesn't do apologies."

"Captain Cold doesn't, but sometimes, and _only_ for the right people, Leonard Snart will acquiesce. And I'm sorry that I was an asshole for the last day or so. I can explain later, but first I need you to change."

Sara raised an eyebrow and he nodded to the dress on the bed. It was the same shade as his tux with a long slit up the side. She smirked as she stripped down to put the dress on and she saw the desire in his eyes. She slid into the dress and turned around.

"Zip me up?" she whispered.

He swallowed hard as he pulled the zipper up, letting his fingers caress her back as they went.

"Ok, so, we both look amazing, now what?" she asked.

"Well, seeing as it's difficult to get time off the ship, I convinced Gideon to make us a dinner like that restaurant you loved in Italy." He removed the covers from the dishes on the little table and pulled out her chair. "Care for Valentine's Day dinner?"

Sara's heart fluttered as he pushed her chair in and sat next to her at the table. This was a side she was fairly certain she had never seen, and was fairly certain she wouldn't see again for quite some time. "It smells delicious!" She took a bite of the lasagna and moaned appreciatively. "It's delicious! Well done, Gideon!"

"Thank you, Miss Lance," Gideon replied.

"And well done to you too, crook," Sara said, raising her glass of wine to him.

He smiled both inwardly and outwardly that she had returned to a term of endearment, instead of a grouchy "Leonard." It was much nicer to see her happy as they ate.

"You know, you deserve this and more after what I pulled," he admitted.

"Ok, so what was the deal?"

Leonard sighed. It certainly was a testimony to how much he loved this woman. Not only was he apologizing, but he was going to explain why.

"Alright. Yesterday I had this whole plan for a romantic Valentine's Day. At least I hoped it was romantic… this isn't exactly my forte. But then I overheard you talking to Raymond and thought you hated the thought of the day."

"But I told Ray that I actually did like Valentine's."

"Yeah, but I didn't hear that part. I only heard the irritating part. So, I figured my plans went sideways in a lot of ways and I got a little… well, Mick called it pissy."

"He's not wrong," she said with a smile.

"I suppose not."

"Well, for what it's worth, I forgive you. This amazing dinner more than makes up for it and the view of you in a tuxedo is just icing on the cake."

"Speaking of which, save room for dessert," he added.

"Dessert or _dessert_?" she playfully asked.

He smirked. "Oh, both are on the menu if I have any say about it," he replied in a tone that made her shiver.

And before she could say anything to that, Leonard decided to stop wasting time.

"But before either of our desserts, I would like to get your opinion on something."

"Hmmm?" she asked as she sipped another glass of wine.

Leonard took a deep breath, took the ring box from his pocket and got down on one knee before her.

"I know I'm not the man you deserve. I've got baggage and issues and scars. But I'm a selfish guy and I still want you all for myself. So, I thought maybe I'd ask…" He opened the ring box. "Sara… Would you be crazy enough to spend forever with me?"

Sara brought her hands to her mouth and gasped. After the past day, this wasn't even on her radar of how Valentine's Day would end. She looked into his pleading eyes and knew her answer.

"You know, I think I'm just crazy enough to say yes to that!" she answered with a huge smile.

Not having the words to express his relief, Leonard leaned up and kissed her soundly. As he pulled back to catch his breath, she asked, "Well, do I get the ring?"

Leonard laughed. An honest laugh. "Oh! Yeah!" And he excitedly slipped it onto her finger.

"It's beautiful," she murmured.

"It took quite a bit of sneaking to get it since _someone_ monitors transmissions and the jump ship like a hawk."

She giggled. An honest giggle. "Well you did a fantastic job with sneaking and with picking it out. Are the gems what I think they are?"

"Mmm-hmm. Diamond in the middle. White opal for you, blue sapphire for me. They're all set in the band so hopefully they won't break if an unexpected battle breaks out."

"So, daily?" she said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, exactly." He got up and returned to his seat. It warmed his heart to see that she hadn't taken her eyes of the ring. "So… you like it?"

"I love it! And I love you, Captain."

"I love you too, Canary."

Before they can kiss again, they're interrupted by Gideon. "May I offer my congratulations, Mr. and soon-to-be-Mrs. Snart?"

"Why thank you, Gideon," Sara replied. She never really thought about taking her husband's last name. She never really expected to get married for that matter. But Gideon seemed to have answered that question for her with a tiny glimpse as to what the AI would be calling her one day.

"So, would you like to have dessert, so we can get to _dessert_?" Leonard asked, waggling his eyebrows.

"You know, that tiramisu looks and smells delicious, but I think I'd like _dessert_ first," she said, grabbing him by his tie and leading him to the bed.

"Whatever the little missus wants."


End file.
